7/05/2004

"Smoke-In" Myth Alive, Not Well

Beginning in the late 60s every Fourth of July, people sometimes calling themselves hippies and yippies have gathered near the White House to protest the prohibition of Marijuana. They gather in Lafayette Park around noon to demonstrate and there for a variety of different reasons and causes all relating to the legalization of Marijuana. I heard that sometimes close to a thousand protestors show up. This year about 30 people showed up in the pouring rain, some with shirts from past rallies during the 80s. At 3pm the small crowd set off for the concert site. They didn't actually have the permit to march, but the application for the permit was present. They shouted protest chants like, "Bush is a Dope, Pot is an Herb!" It was hard to believe that this Mounted Park Police lead a parade of 30 people right down Constitution Ave. "Who's Road?!" "Our Road!" "Who's Rights?!" "Our Rights!" "Who's Horse?!" "Our Horse!"